Sheltered Homelands

Floods of lava and water formed the unique landscape of the Columbia River Gorge, where nearby rock formations and sandy soils created a perfect site for a village. In the low land beyond this small plateau, archaeological investigations reveal that humans have lived here for more than 10,000 years. The abundant resources of the river and surrounding lands enriched the lives of local inhabitants, as countless salmon struggled through narrow river channels and rested in quiet pools, where fishermen used nets and spears to catch tons of fish, while in the rolling hills above the canyon walls native people gathered roots, plants, and berries. Millions of years ago, floods of lava poured over this landscape, and those layers, hardened into basalt, remain visible in the surrounding cliffs. About 18,000 years ago, huge catastrophic floods of water and ice, up to 1,000 feet deep as they rushed through the valley, cut deep into the basalt and left exposed cliffs and rock features still visible today. On October 24, 1805, William Clark landed at a village of 20 houses on the starboard side in a deep basin where the river appeared to be blocked by immense rocks, and he wrote that the houses were about 20 feet wide and 30 feet long, with one door raised 18 inches above the ground, one half used for storing dried and pounded fish, and the other part near the door occupied by the native people, with raised beds on either side and a fireplace in the center.

Washington · United States